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Ovila Quad - Brandy Barrel Aged
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.


Beer Geek Stats
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- From:
- Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Style:
- Quadrupel (Quad)
- ABV:
- 10.4%
- Score:
- 92
- Avg:
- 4.13 | pDev: 9.93%
- Reviews:
- 21
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Dec 28, 2015
- Added:
- Oct 30, 2012
- Wants:
- 37
- Gots:
- 11
SCORE
92
Outstanding
92
Outstanding


Notes:
None
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Dodgerrigo77 from California
4.46/5 rDev +8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev +8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Think I got this Feb 2013 @ City beer SF
Nice pop of cork, minimal gushing.
Nice dark fruit smell, looks like a quad by color or a rootbeer.
Taste is very subtle brandy easy dark fruit taste tones through the nose.
Medium carbonation, surprisingly. Good mouth feel
Really good, 12/28/2015, Im guessing this beer should be consumed very soon, great beer, think I paid $5 during SF beerweek
Dec 28, 2015Nice pop of cork, minimal gushing.
Nice dark fruit smell, looks like a quad by color or a rootbeer.
Taste is very subtle brandy easy dark fruit taste tones through the nose.
Medium carbonation, surprisingly. Good mouth feel
Really good, 12/28/2015, Im guessing this beer should be consumed very soon, great beer, think I paid $5 during SF beerweek
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut
4.21/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.21/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours quite dark from the bottle to the glass, producing a modest dark tan head with good retention for a barrel aged brew.
Aroma is strong and boozy! Loads of dark fruit come through, with massive bready malts, caramel and brown sugar and toffee, and sweet alcohol throughout. All the traditional aromas of some of the best quads are present in abundance, and the barrel adds nuance vice dominance - in fact, other than perhaps a touch of oak dancing around the edges, it's tough to determine just how much the brandy translates to the aroma, beyond a tinge of alcohol.
Flavor immediately hits full strength: it's sweet and surprisingly sour, like overripe fruit - raisins, plums, and prunes come to mind. The brandy also appears, giving it an overall slight burn and a sweetness different than the malt and yeast. The back end features a more subdued, malty sweetness, hints of oak and even tobacco, and thick, bready malts that are hidden in the first half by the slight sourness.
When I say sour, this is still miles away from a true sour beer. That faint sourness - primarily from the barrel, I'm guessing - is still undeniably part of the experience.
Very full bodied, with a mild sting throughout from the alcohol. It's a beer you can definitely chew and savor.
This is a complex and deep beer. I think my only complaint is that for a barrel aged beer, the brandy represents exceptionally mild. That's also a compliment, in that it certainly doesn't overwhelm the base beer, but if the selling point is that this brew is brandy barrel aged, then I'd prefer more of a presence on the palate.
Sep 13, 2015Aroma is strong and boozy! Loads of dark fruit come through, with massive bready malts, caramel and brown sugar and toffee, and sweet alcohol throughout. All the traditional aromas of some of the best quads are present in abundance, and the barrel adds nuance vice dominance - in fact, other than perhaps a touch of oak dancing around the edges, it's tough to determine just how much the brandy translates to the aroma, beyond a tinge of alcohol.
Flavor immediately hits full strength: it's sweet and surprisingly sour, like overripe fruit - raisins, plums, and prunes come to mind. The brandy also appears, giving it an overall slight burn and a sweetness different than the malt and yeast. The back end features a more subdued, malty sweetness, hints of oak and even tobacco, and thick, bready malts that are hidden in the first half by the slight sourness.
When I say sour, this is still miles away from a true sour beer. That faint sourness - primarily from the barrel, I'm guessing - is still undeniably part of the experience.
Very full bodied, with a mild sting throughout from the alcohol. It's a beer you can definitely chew and savor.
This is a complex and deep beer. I think my only complaint is that for a barrel aged beer, the brandy represents exceptionally mild. That's also a compliment, in that it certainly doesn't overwhelm the base beer, but if the selling point is that this brew is brandy barrel aged, then I'd prefer more of a presence on the palate.
Reviewed by Billolick from New York
4.14/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.14/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
1/2 growler pour from DeCicco's in Ardsley, NY
dark dark brown/amber, next to no head or lace left on the glass
Toffee, ripe and sweet fruits, chocolate, sherry all come to mind.
Tasty and heady, quality winter night capper kinda brew
Nov 19, 2014dark dark brown/amber, next to no head or lace left on the glass
Toffee, ripe and sweet fruits, chocolate, sherry all come to mind.
Tasty and heady, quality winter night capper kinda brew
Reviewed by BMMillsy from Florida
4.11/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.11/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On draft at the top Gainesville. 9 oz snifter. Listed simply as "Barrel Aged", so I am assuming brandy barreled. Pours dark ruby brown, nearly black in the center. Aroma is what seems to be big whiskey barrel and dark fruits, dry oak, more sweet fruits. Sweet dark fruit, black cherry, grape, vanilla, with some sherry-like notes. Medium heavy mouthfeel with medium carbonation. Good stuff and happy to have found this. It's really a nice beer.
Oct 16, 2013Reviewed by thebigredone from Wisconsin
3.51/5 rDev -15%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.51/5 rDev -15%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Had on tap at Burnhearts in Milwaukee.
Pours like any other quad, nice head, looks great.
From there on out, things were a touch down hill. Not sure if this was infected or not, but there were some light-moderate sour fruit notes. They were in competition with the darker, sweeter flavors you would expect in a quad.
Overall, not bad, even if slightly infected.
Jul 19, 2013Pours like any other quad, nice head, looks great.
From there on out, things were a touch down hill. Not sure if this was infected or not, but there were some light-moderate sour fruit notes. They were in competition with the darker, sweeter flavors you would expect in a quad.
Overall, not bad, even if slightly infected.
Ovila Quad - Brandy Barrel Aged from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
92 out of
100 with
93 ratings
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